Awkward Situations
by Lady Cleo
Summary: Part of the BOUND Lifetimes: The third encounter between Colonel Jayne and Prima Ballerina River.
1. Chapter 1

"Awkward Situations - Part 1"

Series: Fluffy Pink Things

By LadyCleo

As always thanks to my wonderful betas!

Part of the BOUND lifetimes; the third encounter between Colonel Jayne and Prima Ballerina River.

"Broccoli!"

Picking up the bundle of green, River dropped it into the plastic bag and tied the end off. Tossing the item into her shopping cart, the Ballerina glanced over her list, guiding the shopping cart around the corner as she shook her ponytail over a shoulder. Glancing causally down the aisle River pulled to an abrupt halt, eyes going wide in panic she quickly retreated back around the corner.

"Of all the supermarkets-" Glancing down over her attire the Ballerina quickly straightened the yellow blouse and brushed her jeans off. Glancing around she spotted the line of cash registers and debated making a mad dash for the doors, she was positive that a box of Chinese take out would taste just as good-

"Morning Miss Tam."

Inwardly cursing, the Ballerina slowly turned away from her shopping cart and beamed up at the Colonel. He stood staring down at her with that same infuriating grin, a bundle of bread tucked under one arm and a pound of coffee under the other. He looked somehow odd and awkward out of uniform, but very comfortable at the same time.

Nervously clearing her throat River shifted from one foot to the other, "Good morning Colonel Jayne."

"Ain't seen you 'round this neck of the woods before!" He smiled brightly down at her, a hint of glee dancing through his eyes as he watched her squirm.

"Coincidence I suppose!" The Ballerina shrugged and looked down at her toes for a second, "Did you run out of the essential this morning? Or can I suppose that you live solely on bread and coffee?"

Jayne chuckled lightly, glancing down at the two packages, "Don't ya know a great chef when ya see one? I can take these here items and turn 'em into a crème bruh-la or something!"

The Ballerina snorted as she held back the laugh, "Crème Brûlée? Really? Well that's something I must see!"

"Now, that's something I could probably arrange, Miss Tam!" Jayne answered, giving her a cocky smile as he winked down at her.

"Mike!" Jayne spun around as the unfamiliar voice called out. A striking blond haired, brown eyed woman rounded the corner pushing a shopping cart that contained not only food, but a brown haired, blue eyed child that looked remarkable similar to the man standing at River's side. "Mike, I can't find Mitch! He's wandered off again, you know how he gets in big cities, he's bound to be lost out on the streets by now."

Defiantly not related by blood, wedding ring, kid, familiar smile directed towards Jayne, first name basis! River fought a hard battle to keep the frown off her lips. He was married! The damn asshole was married!

"He's a big boy; he can take care of himself, Suzy!" Turning back around to River, Jayne took her hand pulling her forward into the view of the other woman. "This here is the Ballerina I was talking about, Miss River Tam; I'd like ya to meet-"

Who the hell did he think he was? Flirting around when he had a wife and kid waiting home-

"—my sister-in-law, Susanna Jayne. She and my brother, that'd be Mitch, are visiting for this weekend with their package of brats!"

Susanna's face lit up eagerly, "You don't say! Mike here was just talking about you the other day." Turning away the other woman glancing around in search of something, "My little girl Becky is just in love with the idea of you. She's got a hankering to become a ballerina when she grows up. She's round here somewhere with her father!" Turning back to the pair, Susanna smiled brightly, "My though, aren't you pretty! Jayne sure did you justice when he was describing you the other night!"

A blush hued River's cheeks, "Thank you." Clearing her throat, the Ballerina made sure to keep her eyes off the towering man at her side, "If you like I could arrange for you and your daughter to come see a performance this weekend and meet some of the cast. That is, if you have time."

If it was possible Susanna's face lit up even more. "Oh, she'd just be so tickled if you could do that, if it ain't any trouble, that is. The boys are going to a night game on Sunday, so it'd be nice for Becky and I ta not have to go!"

"No problem at all. My father keeps a box that he seldom uses, so I'm sure he'd be more than willing to ensure that it's put to use!"

"I don't know how'd I ever thank you, Miss Tam. Becky's just gonna be so tickled! I'd better go find them now, 'fore Mitch ends up on the other side of town!" Turning the older woman paused, abruptly turning back around she looked up at her brother-in-law, "I know Mike, why don't we invite her to the barbeque on Saturday." Missing the panic stricken shake of the head her brother-in-law sent her, Susanna turned back to River. "It's just gonna be a small family and friends thing. Why don't you come along? The Jayne boys are wonderful cooks; it's not a meal to be missed! Why don't you bring your boyfriend or family, I'm sure it's gonna be a great little shindig!"

"Suzy, I'm sure Miss Tam-"

"Actually I think I have-"

The two stuttering figures paused, both realizing what the other was saying as they turned to exchanges glances. "Actually I would be delighted to come!" River finally answered breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the group.

"Good!" Susanna beamed, reaching down into her purse she pulled out a small piece of paper and pen, quickly scrawling out the address, and handing it to the petite Ballerina. "Things should start happening 'round six, we'd be glad to see ya there!" Smiling triumphantly the woman turned away and disappeared down an isle.

Jayne cleared his throat and turned to the Ballerina, shifting uncomfortably, "No hard feeling's if you decide you've got better things to do-"

Her spine stiffening with resolve, River stared back at the Colonel with unflinching tenacity, "There's nothing I'd rather be doing!" Turning on her heels, the Ballerina grabbed her cart and pushed away from the silent man. "I'll see you on Saturday, Colonel!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Awkward Situations - Part 2"

Series: Fluffy Pink Things

By LadyCleo

As always thanks to my wonderful betas; firelily for keeping me from word and comma abuse and taramonk for provide the feedback needed to encourage the muse!

Part of the BOUND lifetimes; the third encounter between Colonel Jayne and Prima Ballerina River.

"What the hell was I thinking?" Dropping her head down to rest on the steering wheel, River resisted the urge to restart the car and drive away. Lifting her head back up she peered out the window at the small house and bit her lip, "It's not like we've ever gone beyond causal flirting- I've only seen the man three times before and now I'm going over to his house to meet his family. Something just doesn't seem right about that!"

"It can't be that bad, hon," Kay whispered from the passenger seat. "What's the worst that could happen?" Tossing her hair over her shoulder she leaned over to peer at the small house. "If it gets bad we can always claim there's an emergency and ditch!"

"I could always say that there's a dead body I forgot to put away!"

Glancing over her shoulder River glared at her older brother. "Funny Sam! You're not helping the situation!"

Sam shrugged, "Since when do I ever help the situation? I'm family, I'm supposed to be a nuisance and cause trouble! Why are we even here? All I've ever heard about this guy is that he's an annoying and likes to step on your toes in more ways than one."

River sighed as Kay turned to her and questioned, "Why'd we bring him anyway?"

"Because you just 'had' to marry him! Honestly Kay, couldn't you have done better?"

"We'll hon, the lesbian thing wasn't working for us. I needed to get into the family somehow."

Both girls giggled as the man in the back seat groaned, "Are we getting out of the car anytime soon?"

"I suppose we ought to, River honey, they probably think we're lost or something. That is if they haven't noticed the car that's been sitting in front for the past fifteen minutes."

"Alright, alright, we'll go in, but Sam-" glancing back over her shoulder the Ballerina fixed her brother with a hard glare, "play nice, else I'm telling Daddy about the time you tried to cut open my cat!"

"I was twelve!"

Ignoring her brother, River pushed open the car door and stepped out; pausing to gaze up at the small house with a resolve she wasn't feeling.

Coming over to her side, Sam stared at his little sister worriedly, "What's the big deal anyway? I thought you said this guy was just a big oaf? It's not like you're gonna marry him or anything."

Kay laughed lightly as she joined the pair, "Honestly Sam, you are clueless." Wrapping her arm through River's, Kay started to pull the girl towards the looming door as Sam trailed a step behind them. Reaching the front door, the other girl reached forward and gently pressed the buzzer. "Remember to breathe, darling, don't wanna pass out; Sam can only declare the cause of death."

The door pulled open and Jayne smiled down at the three. "Was wondering when ya'll were going to come in."

Susanna stepped around her brother-in-law, lightly smacking him on the shoulder. "Just ignore him; we're so glad you could make it." Pushing Jayne back the slightly smaller woman made room for the three to enter.

River cleared her throat nervously, motioning to her brother and his wife, "This is my brother, Samuel Tam and his wife, Kaylyn Tam."

"You can call me Kay and him Sam," Kay declared with a friendly grin as she shook hands with the other woman.

"This here is Colonel Michael Jayne and I'm Suzy Jayne, the Colonel's sister-in-law; it's a pleasure to meet you all. Why don't you follow me out back and I'll introduce the rest of the clan?" Taking Kay by the hand, Susanna led her towards the back porch with Sam in tail.

"Glad ya could make it." His rough voice startled her slightly and the Ballerina spun gracefully around, almost slamming into his chest as the Colonel abruptly halted. His hand rose swiftly to catch her by the arm, lingering there for a second though she didn't need the assistance.

River cleared her throat nervously again and averted her gaze back down to her toes, "Was there ever any doubt that I would?"

Jayne chuckled lightly, "Well that whole situation was kinda awkward. Sorta like this one."

Taking a step back, River found herself nervously laughing, "Awkward? Nothing awkward about it." Glancing around the small bachelor pad, she tried to find a way to change the subject, but the place was only sparsely decorated with only the essentials. "We should probably join the group. If I don't watch out for him, Sam tends to insert his foot into his mouth."

Jayne nodded, stepping around the slightly smaller Ballerina he lead her through the living room to the patio doors, pulling open the glass door for her. River smiled at up at him and stepped into the warm D.C. air, her cheeks hewing red as she felt his eyes follow her.

Well this was going to be fun!


	3. Chapter 3

"Awkward Situations - Part 3"

Series: Fluffy Pink Things

By LadyCleo

As always thanks to my wonderful betas!

Part of the BOUND lifetimes; the third encounter between Colonel Jayne and Prima Ballerina River.

The Colonel silently cursed his sister-in-law as he watched the Ballerina's slight form slip past. The girl had to be positively spooked by the entire situation. Who the hell invites a practical stranger to an intimate family gathering? Psychos and whacks that's who. Closing the patio door behind him, Jayne crossed the yard and joined the rest of group, trying his best to keep the frown from his lips.

"This is Mitch," Susanna introduced her husband with a smile, "He's the softer side of Mike here." Pecking her husband quickly on the cheek, Suzy led the three away to introduce the rest of the guests, which included a bunch of Jayne's Pentagon buddies and a select few of his closer neighbors.

Jayne stayed with his brother by the grill, watching River from a distance for a second before turning his attention to the sizzling burgers and steaks. "Watch what you're doing Mitch!"

His younger brother snickered as he flipped another burger, "I don't think I'm the one that's distracted, big bro."

"Shove it," Jayne snapped back. Grabbing the metal spatula the Colonel pushed his brother over, "Go see ta your family, I'll do this."

Mitch shrugged, lingering for a second longer, "She's a cute little bit! I'll give ya that. Kinda small though, sure she can handle a man like Mike Jayne?"

-

The sound of laughter pulled River away from the conversations around her. Turning slightly she caught sight of the Colonel smacking his younger brother with the spatula. "So what do you do, Sam?" Colonel Sweeny questioned, snapping River back to the conversation.

"I work in the Forensics' department for the Bureau."

"Yeah," Sweeny asked eagerly, "kinda like Scully on the X-Files?"

River snickered slightly as she caught her brother's inward wince. Turning away from the group, the Ballerina wandered over to Susanna and Kay in an attempt to keep her eyes from straying back over to the grill.

Smiling gently, Kay nudged her, "It ain't like ya haven't been flirting with him for the past three encounters. Just go talk to the man already, ignore the situation, pretend you ran into him on your way to get dinner." Giving her sister-in-law a quick shove towards the grill, she motioned towards the Colonel. "He ain't gonna bite."

River rolled her eyes and reluctantly moved across the yard to join the Colonel. "I still haven't seen that Crème Brûlée appear." Idiot- that's a great way to start a conversation. Shifting nervously, River suddenly found the sizzling coals very intriguing.

Jayne shrugged, flipping another burger over. "Night ain't over yet." He turned briefly to glance down at her, watching as she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. "Suppose we're back to awkward then?"

River's head snapped up, her eyes meeting his. "Awkward? No! I mean, why should it be awkward?"

Jayne shrugged, "I don't know, maybe 'cause we don't know that much about each other."

"Well our conversations haven't exactly been enlightening," River pointed out, the tension falling away from her shoulders. Turning to fully face the Colonel she leaned back against a nearby table. "I suppose that's something that we can fix though. For instance did you know that my name is River Tam? That I'm a Prima Ballerina for the Washington Ballet, or that I'm the daughter to Senator Fredrick Tam and sister to Samuel Tam?"

Jayne's eyebrow hiked into his hairline, "I reckon I did."

"Well?" River questioned, "What about you?"

Pausing for a second he scratched at his forehead, "the name's Michael Jayne, but most people call me Mike or Jayne-"

"Jayne's a girl's name."

"Hey," he snapped back at her with a grin, "I didn't interrupt you."

"Sorry!"

"I 'm head of security for General Norrell, working in the Pentagon under some other stuff I'm not supposed to talk about. I joined the military at nineteen after my ma died. Pa passed away two years ago and I've got two brothers; Mitch is the farmer, and Danny's working in L.A. with a profiler."

River beamed up at the man, "See that wasn't so hard, and not at all uncomfortable."


	4. Chapter 4

"Awkward Situations - Part 4"

Series: Fluffy Pink Things

By LadyCleo

As always thanks to my wonderful betas!

Part of the BOUND lifetimes; the third encounter between Colonel Jayne and Prima Ballerina River.

"Mike and Mitch are only two thirds of the family. Danny's the mix of them both; he's not as soft as Mitch, but not nearly as hard as Mike."

Kay submerged her hands into the warm soapy water, laughing slightly at the mental picture Suzy was providing. "That must be quite a sight when you put the three of them together."

"Yeah," Suzy grinned wiping off a dish with a towel, "But, it's so hard to just get the three of them together; Mike's here, Danny's on the west coast, and we're smack dab in the center."

"You've seen us together plenty of times, Suzy." Mitch interrupted, frowning at his hand of cards.

"Not for more than three minutes; saying hi to Danny as Mike boarded the plane."

Sam looked up from his position opposite of Mitch and silently dropped his hand of poker. "I fold." Standing, he crossed the room and nudging Kay in the side said, "We should probably be getting out of here soon, we've got to attend church with Dad in the morning."

Kay frowned as she glanced out the patio door to where River and Jayne were sitting together. "Aw, but they're so comfortable out there, I really hate ta interrupt them, just a few more minutes and then we can get going. 'Sides, the least we can do is help clean up."

Sighing in defeat, Sam turned and wandered back over to the table, "How about another round?"

-

Kicking up his feet Jayne laughed, "but I like playing golf-"

"What's your handicap?" River questioned, quietly stirring the contents of her drink as she watched the man think for a second.

"Two point five. You golf?"

"Of course; when growing up in a political family one is taught the art of golf from the very beginning."

Intrigued the Colonel glanced over at her slight form. "What's your handicap?"

"You don't want to know," she answered with a seductive little laugh. Leaning her head back she stared up at the stars, smiling softly. A comfortable silence settled over the two as the crickets chirped in the distance, the moon shinning brightly down- it was a little too perfect.

Jayne glanced over at her quietly, picking up his beer he took a quick sip. "What'cha thinking about?"

What was she thinking? Was it supposed to feel this right already? Had Kay or her mother felt this way at the beginning? Why was she so comfortable beside this man when she had known others for much longer and never felt a semblance of the peace she was feeling right now? How could something that felt like this be possible? When was the other shoe going to drop, when did she find out that he was an alcoholic or wife beater? That he had three kids from a previous affair or that he just wanted to be friends? How could something that seemed this wonderful end well? Why was she thinking so much?

"Nothing much." The ballerina turned to look at the man opposite from her.

A frown slowly crossed his lips, "Ya ever feel kinda like-" he trailed off into silence and ran his thumb across his lips, eyes still gazing off into the bright starlit sky pensively.

"Like what?"

"I dunno-" he shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at her with his dark blue eyes. "Maybe like we met somewhere el-"

The patio door slipped open, Kay poked her head out into the night air and smiled apologetically at the pair, "Sorry River honey, but we're supposed to meet your father tomorrow morning and Sam needs to get ta bed if I'm gonna have any hope of getting him up."

"I'm coming," River answered softly as she rose from the chair, Jayne following her example. "Well, Colonel-"

"I'll walk you to the door.

Stepping back into the house, the pair was suddenly confronted by Suzy as she walked over to hug the smaller ballerina, "We'll see you tomorrow night I hope?"

"Of course; I'll be center stage. You won't be able to miss me." Stepping out of the woman's embrace, River turned to shake Mitch's hand before following after his brother and the Colonel.

Opening the door for the three, Jayne nodded to Kay, and briefly shook Sam's hand. "Pleasure meeting ya, hope ta see you again sometime!" The Colonel watched the two step out of the house and down the path towards the lone waiting car. Turning back around, he smiled down at the waiting Ballerina, "I reckon, figuring into account our history, that I'll be running into you again real soon."

"I hope so," standing on her tip toes River placed a soft kiss on his cheek, "Thank you Colonel." Turning away she scurried down the path to the car, leaving the Colonel in the doorway with a goofy grin.

Jayne stood there for a second longer, watching the car disappear over the horizon before turning back around and entering the house. Closing the door softly behind him, Jayne moved back through the small living room and into the kitchen where Mitch and Suzy both waited for him.

"Well? What happened?" Suzy questioned, eagerly bouncing on her feet as she clasped the dish towel in her hands.

Leaning against the kitchen counter Jayne shrugged, "I reckon the situation ain't awkward anymore."


End file.
